After Liu Si packed the greens, peas, and other vegetables in the basket, it was already midnight.
The sun was rising in the east, and the two hurriedly drank some vegetable soup and went out.
After all, Lihe Village is nearly ten miles away from Yelang County. After a delay, there are not that many people going to Yelang City to buy things.
Even if a basket of vegetables is sold out, it only costs about 20 yuan, which is about thirty or forty yuan when converted into RMB.
Now Chen Mu experienced again how difficult it is to make money.
It seems that if I want to pay back shopkeeper Liu's money today, I have to ask my elder brother to borrow it.
However, in the memory of the original owner, the relationship with his eldest brother Chen Jianghe was not very good.
In terms of personality, he was exactly the opposite of him. He was extremely pragmatic. When he was about fifteen years old, he left home and came to Yelang City to work as a small worker.
Now more than ten years have passed, and this man has opened his own bookstore, selling various folk dramas and novels.
Although he is not rich, at least he has settled down in Yelang City. For a poor mountain village boy, this is undoubtedly a feat that transcends social classes.
But even so, the original owner still looked down upon his brother.
Even if this kid can survive to this day, it is indispensable for Chen Jianghe's support, but he considers himself an elegant scholar, so how can he be willing to be in the same group as his elder brother when it comes to low-life traders?
However, in Chen Mu's eyes, he felt that this person was trustworthy.
After leaving the house, Chen Mu carried the basket on his back. This scene frightened Liu Si, and he immediately stepped forward to grab it.
"Chen Mu, if you, a scholar, are doing these menial tasks, if the villagers see you, they will laugh at you."
Chen Mu glared at him angrily: "If someone sees me as an old man with nothing, then I will be laughed at and hide away."
After saying that, Chen Mu stepped out and walked outside.
As for Liu Si, after being told this, his heart felt like sugar water had been poured over him, and he smiled.
At this moment, when I look at this thin figure in the distance, I no longer feel the sadness and helplessness I had before, only the expectation and hope for life.
Liu Si squeezed her hands and closed her eyes to say thank you. The days were gradually getting better. Maybe everything was really a manifestation of God.
There was still a hint of coolness in the mountains in the early morning. Chen Mu faced the rising sun and rode the mountain fog, holding Liu Si's hand and walking down the mountain.
"Hey, is Aunt Zhang picking spicy peppers?"
"Hey, Uncle Li's corn seedlings are growing well."
Going down the mountain road, I met many villagers working in the fields, and Chen Mu greeted them without hesitation.
When these people saw this figure clearly, they couldn't help but rub their eyes, their expressions of surprise were as if they had seen a ghost.
"This person...is the second eldest son of the Chen family?"
"What a fool, you actually went selling vegetables with a basket on your back... No, I have to go back and see if the sow at home has climbed up the tree!"
For the people in the village, it was undoubtedly like watching a thriller. Who would have thought that a notoriously lazy man from all over the country would actually start to do something today.
It wasn't until the beginning of Si Shi that the two of them arrived in front of Yelang City. At this time, there was an endless flow of people coming and going at the city gate. It would not be an exaggeration to describe the city as crowded.
The capital of Yizhou is Bajun, located to the north of the Yangtze River, while Yelang County is just across the south of the Yangtze River, so the two are not far apart.
Therefore, depending on the economic and cultural reflection of the capital, this small place is quite prosperous.
After entering the city, Chen Mu handed the basket to Liu Si. In ancient times, there were no vegetable markets specializing in selling vegetables. Just put a piece of cloth on the ground, insert a chicken feather and wait.
As for Chen Mu, he turned around and headed towards the south of the city.
The eldest brother's bookstore is over there, and he would go there once the original owner's house got stuck. However, since Liu Si sold vegetables and farmed to support him, he has never been there again in the past five years.
The storefront is not big, only about thirty to fifty square meters, and the business is not very good. Even though there are many people in the city today, when I enter the house, there are only twenty or thirty people there.
Leaving aside some free prostitutes, I'm afraid there will only be a dozen customers.
Any dynasty with a prosperous economy must also be extremely prosperous in literature.
All kinds of novels about ghosts and rivers and lakes emerge in endlessly, giving birth to a large number of literati who make fortunes through writing.
However, it is not possible to sell books at will. The Long Xia Dynasty had an extremely complete management policy for literary publishing.
If you want to sell a book, you must obtain the author's consent. The subtext is that you have to pay royalties.
Small shops like Big Brother can only sell some free works by predecessors or some unknown literati.
For example, some popular literati, such as those talented ladies, require money that a small shop cannot afford.
"The wind is so strong today, it has brought you, sir, here."
Just as Chen Mu was thinking, a cold face suddenly appeared in front of him.
He is dressed in gray Zen clothes, with his hair in a square bun. He is slightly taller and looks almost the same as himself, but he is a bit more mature and steady in comparison.
If this person is not Chen Jianghe, who could he be?
Chen Mu smiled faintly, then lowered his head and held his hands in his hands: "Brother."
In the eyes of ordinary people, it seemed like an ordinary scene, but when Chen Jianghe came here, it made him tremble all over, and he even couldn't believe his ears.
After thinking about it, this kid hasn't called himself brother for more than ten years at least.
But soon, Chen Jianghe came to his senses, glanced at Chen Mu and turned around: "Tell me, how much do you want?"
Chen Mu was not polite: "Two hundred and fifty articles."
"Humph, I knew it."
After saying that, Chen Jianghe threw a bag over, and after a rough inspection, it was probably about five or six hundred yuan.
Based on the current situation of this store, I only need one or two taels of silver a month, and I'm afraid I won't be able to make much money, leaving aside the cost of rent.
Even though the original owner often belittled and insulted him, he was able to repay evil with kindness, which is enough to prove his broad mind.
"Brother, I don't have the nerve to take money for nothing. Let me copy some books for you. How about I earn it myself?"
As soon as these words came out, Chen Jianghe turned his head with a hint of surprise.
"Are you really willing to do something?"
Chen Mu nodded. He didn't have the habit of taking other people's money for nothing. Moreover, he really wanted to take the opportunity to ease the relationship between brothers. In the future, he might have to rely on this eldest brother to start a business.
Chen Jianghe couldn't keep his face straight anymore, he smiled and patted his shoulder and said: "You finally got on the road, good. I happen to have a few books that need to be copied. Come with me."
Even though the bookstore is about to close, and even though he has been running around Yelang City for so many years, he is still alone, he is very happy to see that his brother is willing to take the right path, and he is happy from the bottom of his heart.
In this era, there was no printing technology. Bookstores of all sizes relied on manual labor to copy books. Or if you had to go out and walk around, wouldn't business opportunities come?
But there is no rush now. Even if you set up a movable type printing workshop to take orders, others will soon follow suit and you will only earn a small profit.
In Chen Mu's mind, he has built a huge business blueprint, and now he either doesn't move, or he has to eat a big one.